


The Song of the Traveler by babs

by babs



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-23
Updated: 2011-04-23
Packaged: 2017-10-18 13:30:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babs/pseuds/babs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An off-world mission gives Daniel a new passion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Song of the Traveler by babs

_Language is simply alive, like an organism. We all tell each other this, in fact, when we speak of living languages, and I think we mean something more than an abstract metaphor. We mean alive. Words are the cells of language, moving the great body, on legs. Language grows and evolves, leaving fossils behind.  
\--Lewis Thomas_

  
Jack shifted his weight on the stool. A twinge in his knee, growing pressure in his bladder, and sweat trickling down his back all combined to make him wish he was somewhere else. He was grateful for the stool he really was even if the reason he'd gotten it was because the Upashani thought anyone with gray hair was old and therefore unable to work. But at least he had a stool.

Daniel was kneeling in the dirt, his butt resting on his heels, his hands on his thighs. Jack winced at the thought of his knees in that position. Sunlight slanted through the trees, highlighting Daniel's hair and also the bent head of the elderly woman seated on the stool before him.

Her voice cracked with age and Jack had no idea what language she spoke. A few of the younger villagers sat around her, kneeling as Daniel was while on Jack's left a pregnant woman sat, entranced by the song the woman sang. The old woman, Yushai Jack remembered Daniel calling her, stopped her singing, looking straight at Daniel and laughing. Jack could see just enough of Daniel's face to see his lips turn up in a smile and crows feet form at his eyes.

Daniel said something in what sounded like Russian and the woman nodded, along with all the others sitting nearby. One of the younger people on the ground began to clap his hands and the others joined in.  
Yushai, and Jack still wasn't sure if that was her title or her name, held up her hand and began to speak in the same language Daniel had used. The pregnant woman next to him nodded as Yushai spoke and held her hand to her mouth at one point. Then the elderly woman stopped and the others began clapping once more. Yushai stood and Daniel leaned forward, touching his forehead to the ground along with everyone else. Jack gave a sideways glance to the pregnant woman and copied her position of hands clasped at her chest and bowed head.

The younger people got up after Yushai was out of sight and went on their ways, chatting and laughing. The pregnant woman moved forward and Jack got up, offering his arm to her, remembering Sara's ungainliness in the last month she was pregnant with Charlie. She smiled up at him and braced her hands on his arm, using it as a balance to get to her feet. She said something in a quiet voice, her eyes downcast and her black hair shielding her face from his view.

"She says 'thank you.'" Daniel murmured by his side.

"You're welcome," Jack said.

She raised one hand using it to hide her mouth as she giggled. She turned her head as someone called what Jack thought might be her name. She waved to the person and pushed back her hair, giving Jack another shy smile before turning and making slow progress across the dusty square.

"So," Jack said, turning his attention to Daniel, "what was all of this about?" He gestured to the stool Yushai had used and the scuffed dirt.

"Oh," Daniel said, after taking a swallow from his canteen and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, leaving a muddy streak in its wake. "Yushai was singing one of travelers songs in the language of her birth."

"Travelers songs?" Jack asked as they began walking towards the guest house SG-1 had been given.

Daniel nodded, before taking another drink. "The Upashani were nomads, following the herds of pashad and trading with tribes. They had traveling songs. They sang them during the long days on the plains." Daniel opened the door to the guest house, letting out a sigh as cooler air met them. "Yushai is the only person left who knows them."

"She hasn't taught them to anyone?" Jack went over to the table and picked up a piece of fruit that reminded him of an apple. He bit into it, letting the tart juice run down his chin.

"She's the only native Upashani speaker left." Daniel took the fruit out of Jack's hand and took a bite himself before offering it back to Jack.

"No thanks," Jack said, after looking at the now slightly dirty fruit. "Enjoy."

"Thanks," Daniel said, seeming already distracted. He placed the fruit on the table while he rummaged in his pack. He held up a notebook and pen. "I'm going to go to the records hall. I have some research I need to do." He grabbed the alien apple and left. Jack followed him part-way and then decided he should check on Carter and Teal'c, who were busy talking with some mining engineers up in the hills. With a last glimpse at Daniel disappearing into one of the stone buildings the natives were fond of, Jack turned in the other direction and headed for his other teammates.

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"You like it, Colonel O'Neill?"

Jack nodded to Grigori, the Upashani's leader as he finished his last spoonful of the sweetened bread pudding that had been served as the last course of the banquet in celebration of the new alliance between two worlds. SG-9 would be following in a few days to finalize the details with SG-11 tagging along to do some surveying. "It's very good."

"Do you wish more?"

Beside him, Daniel gave a little snort.

"No. No thank you." Jack smiled at their host and patted his belly. Grigori laughed and patted his own formidable girth. He clapped his hands twice and a group of people dressed in colorful gowns filed into the banquet hall.

"We would like to entertain you with some of the traditional songs of the Upashani." Grigori said. "Is that agreeable?"

"Very agreeable." Daniel answered for all of them.

The music was enjoyable, but even Jack could hear the difference between the songs Yushai had entertained them with earlier in the day and the songs now. Daniel translated the words for the rest of them--songs of hearth and home, of growing crops, of the rolling hills of their land.  
The concert ended and the audience, SG-1 included, clapped appreciatively. People gathered their belongings to leave the hall.

"Did you enjoy our music?" Grigori asked as he walked with them through the streets.

"It was very pleasant," Jack said. "I was wondering why Yushai..." he hesitated, noticing Daniel's frown, and changed tack, "wasn't there."

"Yushai does not appreciate the new ways." Grigori said with a sniff.

"The new ways?" Carter chimed in.

"When our people were forced to give up the nomadic life, when the Pulani gained power and wished us to become farmers and city-dwellers, they requested that we give up our old ways."

"Including your language." Daniel commented and Jack realized it hadn't been a question.

"These are new times, Doctor Jackson. Yushai is the only one who remembers a time when the Upashani traveled behind the pashad, and she was a child when the Pulani gave us the farms. The Upashani are successful. We have food to eat and our children go to the larger cities to study. Why should we regret something none of us remember?"

Daniel paused in his steps. Jack watched, noticing Daniel open his mouth a few times and then close it before resuming his steady pace.

"I bid you a good night's sleep," Grigori said as they reached the house where SG-1 was staying. "And in the morning, my staff will accompany you to the Portal. I hope that you will convey the Upashani's best wishes to your leaders."

After the required formalities, Teal'c closed the door to the house.

"Daniel? You mind sharing?" Jack asked as Daniel walked around the common room, finally stopping in front of the table.

"Sharing?"

"Yes, sharing." Jack tried to keep his voice calm, although he thought he might have been sounding just a little impatient. "What the hell were you planning on saying to our host?"

Daniel flattened his hands on the table, staring at them.

"The naquada in their mines is some of the purest we've seen." Carter offered as a comment.

"I know. And I'm not saying we don't deal with them." Daniel looked up and Jack saw what looked like sorrow in his eyes. "They're good people. But they've lost what they once were--their culture. For all intents and purposes, they aren't Upashani any longer--they are Pulani. Yushai is the last speaker of Upashani. The *last*. When she dies, the songs, the stories, their heritage will die with her."

"What do you wish us to do, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

Daniel gave a small laugh. "That's just it. There's nothing we can do. None of them care. Being Upashani isn't fashionable. None of the younger people wish to learn from Yushai."

"What about you?" Jack asked.

"It's a totally oral language, passed from generation to generation. I'd need years to learn it." Daniel pulled his arms close to his chest. "Yushai allowed me to tape the songs she sang earlier today. Maybe I can..." He shook his head. "It's a race against time."

"I'm sorry, Daniel."

Jack was. Daniel wasn't going to be able to stay on the planet while the rest of the team went back to Earth. There were times Jack wondered if Daniel ever regretted being on SG-1. The times when he'd had to kill or injure or the times like now when there just wasn't time to study a new language and culture.

Daniel smiled at him--sad and understanding. "I know." He turned away and picked up his pack, taking his time to place the small camera and tape recorder in it--slowly and reverently as if he was packing away something precious and irretrievable.

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"Thank you, General." Daniel was saying as Jack entered the briefing room. "I appreciate you giving me this chance."

"Daniel?" Jack asked. He glanced between his friend and Hammond. "Problem, sir?"

"Nothing of the sort, Colonel. Doctor Jackson has asked permission to return to P9L-112 when we send supplies through to SG-11 at 1300 hours."

"Downtime? Didn't you say SG-1 had downtime for the next three days?" Jack saw Daniel wince at his tone. "Downtime that Doc Fraiser thought might be beneficial considering we just spent the last week being entertained by the oh-so-hospitable Cuckoo?"

"Keku," Daniel corrected, glaring at him. "And believe it or not, going to visit the Upashani is my idea of downtime."

Hell, the bruises on Daniel's face hadn't even had time to fade to colors other than blacks and blues and Hammond was giving him permission to jaunt through the Stargate again? Daniel gathered his file folders, moving with the precision of someone with sore muscles.

"General Hammond?"

"Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Fraiser has assured me that Doctor Jackson is medically fit for his requested mission." General Hammond said in a tone that meant business.

"Understood, sir." Jack said.

"Hello. I'm right here," Daniel grumbled. "This is *important." I need to go back, see if I can record more of Yushai's songs, the language."

"It'll keep."

"That's just it, Jack. It won't keep. Yushai is an old woman. I told you on the planet this is a race against time." Daniel said, gesturing towards the Stargate. "And no, in the fight against the Goa'uld this doesn't matter. But I can't let a whole culture disappear when I have the ability to preserve the words of the Upashani. I'm not willing to let Yushai's words be forgotten." He looked from Jack to Hammond and back again.

Jack gave a curt nod. He didn't know that he'd ever be able to understand what drove Daniel, but seeing him passionate and sure of what needed to be done was enough. He smiled and was rewarded with a brief answering smile from Daniel. Message received and processed. "You have time for breakfast with the team before you go gallivanting around the galaxy?"

Daniel grinned. "Yeah. Yeah I do."

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"Well I see we have yellow and green for the color scheme instead of black and blue." Jack said to Carter and Teal'c as Daniel came down the ramp with SG-9 three days later. He looked tired and dirty and hot, but a smile lit Daniel's face as soon as he saw his teammates waiting for him.

Jack jerked a thumb towards the extra pack Daniel was carrying. "You get what you need?"

"We'll see you later, Doctor Jackson," Ted Kovachek said as SG-9 filed past.

"Yeah, thanks." Daniel lifted a hand in acknowledgement before turning to Jack. He hefted the pack onto his shoulder. "I have about ten hours worth of recordings, but it's barely scratching the surface."

"Have you been able to learn any more of the language?" Carter asked, putting herself next to Daniel as they started leaving the Gateroom.

Daniel shook his head, and with his view from behind Daniel, Jack thought he noticed a slight slump to his friend's shoulders as he imparted that little bit of news.

"Let's grab some grub and you can tell us all about it," Jack offered. Daniel turned, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

Jack shrugged. He could be interested in the linguistic stuff if he wanted to and even though he knew he wasn't going to be turning somersaults over Daniel's descriptions of what he'd done while visiting Yushai, he had the sense that letting Daniel talk and enthuse would be just the thing to bring the man back to Earth both literally and figuratively. Besides, they had a mission at thirteen thirty tomorrow. This would give them all a brief chance to unwind before they finished preparations for their journey to a new planet.

  
One lunch, a long review of Greek mythology during their briefing, and what seemed like way too much paperwork after three days downtime, Jack finally looked up from his computer monitor and realized that he was hungry again. He glanced at his watch before shutting down the computer. Standing and stretching, he decided to go see if Daniel was ready to leave.

Daniel looked up in surprise when Jack entered his lab. Three notebooks and two large reference books were spread out on a table. Daniel held up a hand in greeting and Jack could see the chalk dust from where he stood. The board was filled with what appeared to be phonetic spellings while in the background, Yushai's voice came from speakers--the song low and mournful, different from what Jack had heard on the planet.

Jack sat down on Daniel's chair, knowing he was going to be waiting. Daniel scribbled something else on the board, tilting his head as he studied the words. The recording ended and Daniel stepped away, still looking at the words he'd written.

"Hey." Jack said.

"Hey." Daniel walked past and stared at one of the notebooks. He picked up one of the tapes he'd made on the planet before looking at Jack again.

"I have two steaks just begging to be grilled, beer waiting to be drunk," Jack offered.

"And I have...all this," Daniel said. He pushed up his glasses and then frowned when chalk dust smeared on them.

"We have a mission tomorrow."

"I'll be ready." Daniel answered, his attention already back to the tape.

Jack let out a controlled breath. "Guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah. I'll be on time. Don't worry." Daniel gave him a brief smile.

"Daniel?" Jack said as he got to the door. He waited until Daniel looked up again. "Get some rest, okay?"

Daniel blinked at him and then nodded. "I will."

  
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"Well that was fun. Not." Jack said as they came back through the Gate, dripping mud onto the ramp.

"Welcome home, SG-1." General Hammond said.

You had to hand it to good ol' George. He was one cool cucumber when it came to being surprised. But then again, Jack thought, SG-1 had provided just about every situation the general could think up, so his lack of surprise at his first contact team coming home covered from head to toe in blue mud probably seemed like just another ordinary day at the SGC.

"Permission to shower, sir." Jack said with as much dignity as he could muster considering he had blue mud in places he'd rather not think about.

"Was there a problem, SG-1?"

"Um, no sir." Daniel chimed in. Jack shot him an exasperated look. Really, Daniel shouldn't have enjoyed the whole fiasco. "SG-1 was invited to participate in a healing ritual."

"Healing ritual." Hammond repeated, his expression neutral.

"The natives of P1W-557 believe that the mud found near the natural hot springs has therapeutic properties." Teal'c informed the general. Jack stared at the wall behind Hammond. "They offered us the use of them."

"No one was injured on the mission were they?"

"No sir." Carter shook her head, a glob of mud landing on Jack's face. "But they noticed the bruises on Daniel's face and Colonel O'Neill's..."

"My gray hair, sir." May as well get it over with, Jack decided. "Evidently youth is highly valued in their culture."

"But Teal'c and Major Carter?"

"Oh," Daniel actually had the temerity to smile as though being dunked in cold slimy blue mud was normal. "The mud pits were slippery."

"Very slippery," Jack added. "Did I mention we're cold and wet and covered in mud and would really like showers?"

"SG-1, dismissed." Hammond said.

Jack knew it wasn't proper to glare at one's commanding officer, but hell, it wasn't very nice of that commanding officer to laugh while his subordinates were walking out of the door, especially when they were covered in mud.

"Don't look like you're enjoying this, Daniel." Jack said as his team walked towards their locker room. He twisted slightly to see if anyone was following them with a mop and bucket to clean up the trail he was sure they were leaving.

"I'm not," Daniel said, the effect of indignation ruined by the smudge of mud across one of his lenses. "And many cultures have been known to use mud for cosmetic and healing purposes."

"Oh yeah," Jack snarked. "I see people walking around covered in mud all the time."

"Actually, sir, Daniel's correct. There are mud bath treatments in spas." Carter said.

"And you would know that how, Carter?"

"I read, sir."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with that little vacation you, Fraiser and Cassie took a couple of months ago?" Jack opened the door to the locker room. "Age before beauty."

"Thank you, O'Neill. I appreciate you allowing me to take the first shower." Teal'c walked past him.

"J..."

"Don't say it, Daniel. Just don't say it." Jack sighed as he went through the open door.

Fifteen minutes later, he was feeling somewhat clean although he believed he was never going to get the last bit of mud out of his ear. He could hear Daniel in the stall next to his, talking to himself in a language that sounded vaguely familiar.

"No, no." Daniel said in English. "Verb noun object." And then he repeated his words in whatever language he was speaking.

"Daniel?" Jack called.

"I know, I know. De-briefing in ten." Daniel called back before beginning to talk to himself again.

Some things never changed, Jack thought as he started to towel himself dry. He smiled. That was probably a good thing.

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"This is ridiculous." Jack paused from his third circuit around Daniel's office. Daniel was pretending he didn't hear a word and continued his methodical packing. "Damn it, Daniel."

"I'm still going. I have General Hammond's permission. It's not as if they're firing up the Gate just for me."

"You're running yourself ragged." Jack took a few more steps and slammed his hands down on the work table.

"I'm doing my *job*, Jack." Daniel said.

"No, you're doing the job of more than one person. Recording Yushai's songs and words isn't a requirement. It's not as if..."

Daniel stepped into his space, glaring at him. "As *if* what? As if it's *important*? Because although it might not be important to you or to the Stargate program, it's important to Yushai. I made a promise that her words would not die."

Jack looked at the stacks of tapes, at the notebooks he knew contained Daniel's transcriptions of those tapes from Upashani to Pulani. Hours and hours of work, Jack knew. He'd tried to get Daniel to leave the mountain one evening only to find him listening to one of Yushai's songs and her translation from the language of her childhood to the language of her people now. He'd waited a few hours only to realize Daniel wasn't going to budge until he'd managed to save one more song for posterity. Add to those hours, the hours he spent doing all the things he did as part of SG-1 and the hours he'd spent with Yushai off-world and it was all shaping up to a man who was burning the candle at both ends.

Daniel grabbed the notebooks and tapes and placed them into his pack, not looking at Jack.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?" Daniel glanced around the room before finally meeting Jack's gaze.

"Good luck. And tell Yushai hi from her old pal Jack." He might not do apologies with finesse, but a quick shy smile from Daniel told Jack his friend understood.

"I'll do that." Daniel said. They fell into step in the hall, no more words necessary between them.

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Jack was in Hammond's office when the announcement came that Daniel had returned from his latest trip to the Upashani. Hammond motioned for Jack to follow him, and Jack couldn't quite hide a grin at the general's eagerness to greet him.

They strolled into the Gateroom just as Daniel finished walking down the ramp. Although Daniel had frequently returned from his trips to the planet looking tired, this time was different. He looked...Jack tried to put his finger on it. Weary, bone-weary, and much as Jack was sorely tempted to tease his friend with a 'told you so', he held his tongue. Weary and sad and old in a way that Jack wasn't used to seeing.

"Welcome home, Doctor Jackson," General Hammond said.

Daniel nodded and gave a brief smile that faded in less than a second. "Thank you, sir. It's good to be home."

There was an uncomfortable silence and Jack watched as Daniel shifted his weight from one foot to the other, adjusted his glasses, and gave a little cough.

"Yushai is dead," he announced.

"Dead?" Jack asked. He looked at Daniel again. Had there been some sort of battle? Some conflict? But Daniel appeared healthy and the other SG personnel were still on the planet.

"Her heart. She went to sleep two nights ago and never woke up." Daniel explained as he, Jack and General Hammond left the Gate room. "She was an old woman. It wasn't...well it was unexpected, but not surprising."

"Will you be going back for any ceremonies, Doctor Jackson? I'll authorize the trip." General Hammond offered, his voice caring.

"Thank you, sir. But the services were already held." Daniel said. "There was no reason for me to remain after they were over."

"Understood, Doctor Jackson." Hammond nodded. He turned towards his office but then paused. "I know Yushai meant a lot to you. I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Daniel said, and Jack was close enough to see the trouble Daniel appeared to have swallowing as he answered.

Jack waited until Hammond was out of sight before speaking. "Were you able to see her before...you know?" He made a spiraling upward motion with one finger.

"Yes," Daniel said. "She sang me lullabies she remembered from her childhood." He glanced at Jack and then back at the elevator doors. "She laughed and said she was an old fool for giving me children's songs instead of the songs of the Upashani's heroes." The doors opened and Daniel stepped into the elevator cabin.

"What did you say?" Jack asked as the door began to close.

"I told her the songs of family truly told the story of a people." Daniel said as the doors closed, shutting him off from Jack.

Jack headed back towards Hammond's office. Something seemed a bit off with Daniel. Nothing major, just a little niggling feeling Jack had in the back of his skull that there was something Daniel wasn't saying. And as soon as he was done with General Hammond, he was going to find out exactly what it was.

  
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Jack signed the last paper requiring his attention--a supply requisition from Carter for SG-1's next mission. He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head. His stomach growled and he automatically glanced at the clock, surprised to find it was nineteen hundred. He wondered if Daniel was finished with whatever it was he'd been doing since returning from his last visit to the Upashani. Maybe he could persuade him to close up shop and they could have a night watching TV, eating pizza and drinking beer.

When he entered Daniel's office, the lamp at Daniel's desk provided the only illumination in the room. A tape of an elderly woman singing a dying language provided the only sound. Daniel was sitting at his computer, staring at the monitor, his hands still on the keys, his screensaver on.

"Hello, Jack."

"Hey," Jack said. He moved closer leaning against the desk and angling his body so he could look at Daniel. "What happened?"

Daniel pushed back his chair and took off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. "They burned them."

Jack stood up, hand going towards the phone. "Burned *them*?"

"The tapes, the notes I'd made. Everything that I took to Grigori and the others to save the language." Daniel's voice was flat, sadness rather than anger.

"Why? Why would they do that?" Jack asked, not sure he understood. A sudden horrific thought occurred to him. "They didn't...Yushai?"

Daniel shook his head vigorously. "No. They admired Yushai. Her funeral was attended by every Upashani it seemed. No. It was old age. And maybe," Daniel paused, tilting his head back and closing his eyes before continuing, "maybe a broken heart."

"So they burned all the tapes you took back? The notebooks?" Jack asked, pushing for more information.

"I offered them to Grigori. I don't know what I was expecting."

"Well I sure as hell wouldn't have been expecting that they would burn the stuff." Jack said, feeling a righteous anger at what appeared to be ingratitude on the Upashani's part.

"It's over, Jack." Daniel said. He leaned forward and moved his mouse, clicking to shut down. He got up, walking over to the tape player and pressing the button to turn off the recording. The room fell into sudden silence.

Jack thought of Daniel working late into the night, working early in the morning, spending his spare time, his down time racing to save the Upashani's heritage and could feel an almost tangible heaviness in the recirculated air of Daniel's office.

"You *do* have everything backed up here, don't you?"

Daniel glared at him and Jack shrugged. "Just askin'"

"This was the last song she sang for me." Daniel said, staring at the tape player. "She told me it was the earliest song she could remember. Her mother used to sing it to her when they were on the move."

Jack said nothing, waiting for Daniel. If Jack was in Daniel's place, he'd go back, demand an explanation, tell Grigori and the others how foolish they were. But he *wasn't* Daniel. And he knew what Daniel would do. Daniel would continue his work on the ancient language and save it for the ungrateful Upashani in the hopes that someday they'd realize what they'd lost when they'd let their language die. Daniel wouldn't expect thanks for the job, and he wasn't doing it for any reason other than his love and passion for his job and his promise to Yushai. Thank God *he* wasn't Daniel. The world would have been a very different place.

"We follow the stars, shining brightly in the night. We follow the pashad, moving in the sun." Daniel's voice was strong and clear over the song he'd turned on once again. "We follow, we travel, and our children follow. Our children follow. We love, we laugh, we travel, we follow. Our home is the land, our home is our children. We follow, we travel and our children travel beyond. Our children travel beyond."

There was a brief burst of recorded laughter, and then Yushai saying something to Daniel, her voice urgent.

"She told me I was her child. And I would travel beyond, carrying the soul of the Upashani with me for the rest of my life." Daniel explained, and Jack turned his head when Daniel brought a hand up to rub his eyes.

The tape ended, started to rewind and Daniel pushed the button, stopping it.

"I'm ready," he said, making a broad gesture to encompass the office. "Everything else can wait until morning."

"Pizza, beer, Carter, Teal'c?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows. "My place?"

"Yeah." Daniel said, his lips giving the barest twitch. "I'll call Sam and Teal'c. You can pick up the pizzas." He glanced at his watch. "An hour?"

Jack looked at his own watch and then nodded. "See you then." He paused at the door, hearing Daniel straightening up some papers on his desk. "Daniel?"

"It's okay, Jack." Daniel said. "Maybe some day they'll realize...but it's okay. I'm okay."

Jack nodded. "Good. And Daniel? One more thing." He held up his index finger. "I'm not getting anchovies, olives or any of that weird stuff you like on pizzas. So if you want that? Bring your own along."

Daniel looked at him before nodding. "Okay. Got it." He grabbed his jacket. "Get one with mushrooms though." He followed Jack through the doorway, starting to head the opposite direction towards Teal'c's quarters. "Mushrooms," he called after Jack.

Jack sighed as he waited at the elevator. Mushrooms. He hated mushrooms on his pizza. But what the hell? Tonight, he'd get a mushroom pizza and he'd even let them put olives on half. He had a brief regret that he hadn't had the chance to get to know Yushai, but he was glad she'd gotten to know Daniel. To entrust her songs to the man who would care enough to save them. She'd been right in her last words to Daniel. Jack knew Daniel--Yushai's spirit would live in him and he would carry her songs in his heart for the rest of his life, sharing them with those who cared enough to hear.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Jack stepped inside, smiling as he punched the button that would carry him to the surface. Five minutes later he stood outside and looked up at the stars, Yushai's voice overlaid with Daniel's echoing in his mind. We follow the stars, shining brightly in the night. He turned as he heard Teal'c's voice and then Carter's laughter and finally Daniel's.

We follow, we travel...

Sweet.

  



End file.
